[Taxacom] fossil gaps in Lepidoptera

[John Grehan]

For anyone interested, the fossil article is A Triassic-Jurassic window
into the evolution of Lepidoptera. Pdf at
http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/1/e1701568
John Grehan

On Sat, Jun 23, 2018 at 2:52 PM, John Grehan <calabar.john at gmail.com> wrote:

> An interesting side note on fossil and tectonic gaps in divergence
> estimation. In a recent paper I presented tectonic correlations as evidence
> of extant species lineages of ghost moths dating back to the Cretaceous. Up
> until very recently the earliest fossil evidence for fluid feeding
> Lepidoptera was early-Cretaceous time (130 Ma) as represented by a leaf
> mine possibly belonging to the family Gracillariidae.
>
> Then earlier this year fossil Lepidoptera scales with features
> characteristic of fluid feeding Lepidoptera (Exoporia and Heteroneura) were
> found dating to about 200 Ma. Until this discovery the evolution of fluid
> feeding Lepidoptera was largely attributed to late Mesozoic and Cenozoic a
> co-evolution with flowering plants with fossils dating to the early
> Cretaceous (although the sister groups date back much earlier).
>
> Of course the new fossils might be found to be indeterminate of the taxa
> claimed to be represented, or the taphonomy may be in error, or it may be
> that the fossils are correct and fluid feeding Lepidoptera had
> differentiated by this time (minimum age of origin!) even though no earlier
> fossils have yet been found and nothing at this time between 200 and 130 Ma
> (and even the latter fossil is only the fossil habitation attributed to
> fluid feeding Lepidoptera).
>
> John Grehan
>
>